Page 50 of The Vampire's Mercy
Worth a try though, right?
The king grabbed me by the shoulders.
“Get off me!” I yelled in his face.
He shook me.
Whoa. Talk about being trapped in a blender. Everything reeled from his strength, my brain practically bashing the sides of my skull.
“What did you do to me?” he demanded.
“What—”
He gave me another violent shake to churn my insides.
Shit!
“Answer me, elf!” he roared. “Tell me what you did to me!”
“I didn’t do anything,” I replied, while contemplating a headbutt.
His eyes flashed and his grip tightened. I braced for more shaking, but he let me go.
I staggered back, losing my balance. Man, you’d think I’d just been on a fairground ride.
My arse kissed the causeway. “Dammit.”
“I saw petals,” the king said. “I saw white petals andyou.”
Aidan only knew what kind of crap went on inside this guy’s head. He could keep it because I didn’t give two shits. I was too busy wondering if I’d make it down the causeway alive if I made a run for it right now.
“What was it?” he said.
I offered up my best scowl, getting back to my feet. “Don’t talk to me.”
I drew on more of the sea flora’s essence. Enough energy flowed inside me to propel my legs toward shore.
“There were petals and a forest,” Silvanus bleated on. “And you.” He paced back and forth, rambling.
Okay, time to run for my life. Rethink. Come back with a bazooka.
Ha! If only that would work. Although it might be fun to blow some holes in that architectural monstrosity up there.
Silvanus stopped pacing, inspecting his hands. “Who is Lucius?”
I began to back away. What the hell was wrong with him? Unfortunately, I didn’t do anything to him. I’d love to take the credit for any bad thing he experienced, but nope.
“Lucius. Lucius. Lucius.” He looked at me. “Petals and you. Petals and you.” The sadness tainting his features took my breath away. So unexpected, so raw, everything about him softening.
No! Don’t you dare feel one drop of sympathy for him!
His shoulders sagged in defeat. “I don’t know why I’m here.”
I backed away further, the vampire king clearly going through some shit with his memory issues.
A him problem for sure. I needed to be gone.
So why was I watching him so damn curiously?
